Reduce and simplify

Back in the late 70s, Sony was trying to develop a product for people to help pass the time on flights.

When the engineers got together and developed what would eventually be the Walkman, they were able to add a record button on it for no cost.

But Chairman Akio Morita asked them to remove the record button.

Why?

It didn’t cost anything. It was because he didn’t want the consumer to confuse what this device was actually for. By actually lowering the device capabilities Sony was able to maximize a certain type of behavior.

Not every tool is meant for every job. Keep things as simple as necessary and not any simpler.